Apple Wins Symbolic $250 in Masimo Watch Patent Trial

A federal jury Friday ruled that Masimo's smartwatches infringed on Apple Watch patents, but awarded Apple just $250 in damages, which is the statuary minimum amount Apple could seek while it pursues a jury trial rather than a court trial over Masimo's alleged infringements.

masimo watch freedom

Masimo's discontinued W1 Freedom smartwatch

According to Bloomberg Law, jurors found that the original design for Masimo's W1 Freedom and health module, plus its charger, willfully infringed on Apple design patents. However, Masimo said that the ruling only applied to a discontinued module and charger. The distinction undermines Apple's claim of irreparable harm, so while the company won damages, the decision essentially removed Apple's chance to block Masimo's current products.

"Apple primarily sought an injunction against Masimo's current products, and the jury's verdict is a victory for Masimo on that issue," a Masimo spokesperson said in a statement.

The trial came about due to Apple's countersuit in its ongoing legal battle with Masimo, which previously won an import ban on certain Apple Watch models over pulse oximetry patents. The infringement forced Apple to disable blood oxygen monitoring features in Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the US. The feature is also lacking in the US version of the Apple Watch Series 10. The Apple Watches remain fully functional outside of the country.

During the trial, Apple attorney John Desmarais claimed that monetary compensation wasn't the company's goal, telling jurors: "We're not here for the money. We want them to stop copying our design."

An Apple spokesperson defended the company's position, saying: "Teams at Apple worked for years to develop Apple Watch," while "Masimo took shortcuts, launching a device that copies Apple Watch and infringes our intellectual property."

Top Rated Comments

Someyoungguy Avatar
12 months ago
Apple didn’t care about this before they lost the O2 sensor battle. They should just pay for licensing and move on. They can afford to play by the rules instead of pouting.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rayansb Avatar
12 months ago
That 250 dollars can really screw up the books. The accounting department is gonna have to pull an all nighter working on this.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
12 months ago
Is $250 the amount that Masimo made from selling their smartwatch?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
12 months ago
Apple: We will vigorously defend our pantents against infringement.

Also Apple: We'll wilfully infringe on other's patents and tie them up for years in court thus bankrupting them.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
12 months ago


That doesn’t look like an Apple Watch to me, what were they smoking?

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Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ilikewhey Avatar
12 months ago

These legal battles have been, and still are, immeasurably more damaging for Masimo than Apple.
based on what? masimo got free publicity, before this only these in the health industry knows their name. consumers in the knows are actively seeking older generation watches that still have functioning oxygen sensors.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)